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Robot Chicken
| voices = | opentheme = "Robot Chicken" by Les Claypool | endtheme = "The Gonk" by Herbert Chappell | composer = Michael Suby (season 1–4) Adam Sanborne (season 1–4) Charles Fernandez (season 3–4) Shawn Patterson (season 5–6) Randall Crissman (season 7–present) Kevin Manthei (season 6–present) | country = United States | num_seasons = 10 | num_episodes = 183 (and 11 specials) | list_episodes = List of Robot Chicken episodes | executive_producer = | producer = | runtime = 11–12 minutes | company = * Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (season 6–9) * Nelvana (season 10–present) * Sony Pictures Digital (season 1–5) * Sony Pictures Television (season 6–present) * Williams Street }} | distributor = | network = Adult Swim | picture_format = 4:3 SDTV (2005–2009) 16:9 HDTV (2010–present) | first_aired = | last_aired = present | website = http://www.adultswim.com/videos/robot-chicken/ }} Robot Chicken is an American stop-motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, especially Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare. Robot Chicken has won an Annie Award and six Emmy Awards. It is Adult Swim's longest-running show in terms of number of episodes produced. Production history Robot Chicken is based on Twisted ToyFare Theatre, a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine. The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West Hollywood Chinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined; the series originally was intended to be called Junk in the Trunk. The show was created, written, and produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, and produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (formerly Stoop!d Monkey) and ShadowMachine Films (Seasons 1–5) in association with Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Television (Sony Pictures Digital Seasons 1–5). The series first appeared as Sweet J Presents on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001. In the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"), Conan O'Brien was a featured character, voiced by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane (2005–present). Sweet J Presents ended after 12 episodes and moved to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2005 as Robot Chicken, premiering on Sunday, February 20, 2005. Some television networks and sketch shows rejected Robot Chicken, including Comedy Central, MADtv, Saturday Night Live, and even Cartoon Network. However, someone at Cartoon Network passed the pitch along to Adult Swim, around the same time that Seth MacFarlane told Seth Green and Matthew Senreich to pitch the show to Adult Swim. The show mocks popular culture, referencing toys, movies, television, games, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like Saturday Night Live. It employs stop motion animation of toys, action figures, claymation, and various other objects, such as tongue depressors, The Game of Life pegs, and popsicle sticks. One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of ageing, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA for the humans, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program aired a 30-minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007, in the US, featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best. The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). The show airs in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of Fox and TruTV's Adult Swim block, in Canada it aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and then the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network (until the shift into 24/7 family-friendly shows on April 1, 2019) and now airs on the 24/7 Adult Swim channel (currently after the Canadian Cartoon Network cancelled the Adult Swim block), in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in Germany on TNT Series' Adult Swim block, and in Latin America on the I.Sat Adult Swim block (after the Adult Swim block was cancelled from Cartoon Network Latin America in 2008). Many of the show's sketches from Sweet J Presents were redone for Robot Chicken. The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 1, 2007, to September 28, 2008. After an eight-month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes. The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended September 20, 2009. In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total). Season five premiered on December 12, 2010. The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012. In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of Robot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012. The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Season eight premiered on October 25, 2015. Season nine premiered on December 10, 2017. Season ten premiered on September 29, 2019. Opening sequence On a stormy night, a mad scientist finds a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to re-fashion into a cyborg. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns his laser eye towards the camera, and the title appears amidst the "laser effects" as Les Claypool of Primus can be heard screaming "It's alive!" à la Frankenstein. Claypool also composed and performed the show's theme song. The mad scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, uses calipers to hold his eyes open, and forces him to watch a bank of television monitors (with allusions to A Clockwork Orange and Watchmen); this scene segues into the body of the show, which resembles someone frequently changing TV channels. In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims in the "Best Robot Chicken Ever" sketch that this sequence tells the viewers that they are the chicken, being forced to watch the skits. As a result, the show does not actually focus on the Robot Chicken until the 100th episode, when he finally makes his escape and later kills the mad scientist when he takes his hen girlfriend Cluckerella. Beginning in the sixth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with a role reversal. The Robot Chicken comes upon the body of the scientist, which has been decapitated. He decides to do to the scientist what the mad scientist did to him: add robotic parts to him, turn him into a cyborg, and give him a laser eye (although he gives the scientist a blue eye instead of a red one, which necessitates a change in the title's background color), then strap him to the same chair he was strapped to and force him to watch the same TV monitors while the chicken and his girlfriend share a kiss. Beginning in the eighth season, a new opening sequence has been featured with the Robot Chicken being discovered in snow, frozen in a block of ice. Taken back to the futuristic laboratory, the Robot Chicken is taken out of suspended animation by a masked scientist, revealed to be a descendant of the mad scientist who first reanimated the Robot Chicken. The descendant mad scientist then proceeds to force the Robot Chicken to watch a wall of projected images with different shows, as his ancestor did before him. This new opening was necessary following the plot of last season's episode "Chipotle Miserables" in which the mad scientist's son rips out his father's remaining eye to open a door controlled by an optical biometric reader, and then creates a posse of reanimated half-cyborg animals, as well as a cyborg homeless person. The posse then proceeds to kidnap all 5 Presidents of the United States who were alive or had served in office at the time: Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. The Robot Chicken and the mad scientist then team up to rescue the presidents, after which, the Robot Chicken flies away, free. Beginning in the tenth season, during the show's switch to CGI, a new opening sequence has been featured with the Nerd being turned into a cyborg by both the Robot Chicken and the mad scientist and being forced to watch the skits while they high five. This is a result of the previous season finale where the Nerd dies from a cliff jump stunt in order to get the show renewed. The letters TEN in the title have been also highlighted as to mark the show reaching ten seasons. Voice cast Main cast Main and major recurring actors/writers are: * Jordan Allen-Dutton * Candace Bailey * Abraham Benrubi * Rachel Bloom * Alex Borstein * Leah Cevoli * Rachael Leigh Cook * Hugh Davidson * Mikey Day * Eden Espinosa * Donald Faison * Shelby Fero * Tamara Garfield * Sarah Michelle Gellar * Doug Goldstein * Ginnifer Goodwin * Clare Grant * Seth Green * Jamie Kaler * Mila Kunis * Jordan Ladd * Jamie Loftus * Seth MacFarlane * Breckin Meyer * Dan Milano * Chad Morgan * Tom Root * Katee Sackhoff * Matthew Senreich * Tom Sheppard * Kevin Shinick * Amy Smart * Adam Talbott * Erik Weiner * Zeb Wells * Victor Yerrid Celebrity guest stars Among those celebrities who have contributed to this show are: * 50 Cent * Scott Adsit * Malin Åkerman * Jason Alexander * Lauren Ambrose * Gillian Anderson * Eric Andre * Steve Aoki * Magda Apanowicz * Fred Armisen * Sean Astin * Sebastian Bach * Kevin Bacon * Robin Bain * Diora Baird * Johnny Bananas * Elizabeth Banks * Jonathan Banks * Samantha Barks * Sasha Barrese * Lance Bass * Sean Bean * Kristen Bell * Lake Bell * Jon Bernthal * Ahmed Best * Michael Ian Black * Megan Boone * John Bradley * Wayne Brady * Amy Brenneman * Jordana Brewster * Alison Brie * Christie Brinkley * Clancy Brown * Sterling K. Brown * Eugene Byrd * Dean Cain * Sarah Wayne Callies * Anna Camp * Bruce Campbell * Tisha Campbell-Martin * Bobby Cannavale * Linda Cardellini * Jennifer Carpenter * Robert Carradine * Emma Caulfield * Tom Cavanagh * Lacey Chabert * Sarah Chalke * Kyle Chandler * Max Charles * Kristin Chenoweth * Michael Chiklis * Anna Chlumsky * Emmanuelle Chriqui * Erika Christensen * Emilia Clarke * Jemaine Clement * Diablo Cody * Lauren Cohan * Gary Coleman * Kevin Connolly * Dane Cook * Josh Cooke * Rob Corddry * Abbie Cornish * Erin Cottrell * Dave Coulier * Bryan Cranston * Chace Crawford * Affion Crockett * Macaulay Culkin * Robert Culp * Alan Cumming * Alexandra Daddario * Brett Dalton * Hugh Dancy * Anthony Daniels * Keith David * Vicki Davis * Rosario Dawson * Dom DeLuise * Alexis Denisof * Kat Dennings * Chris Diamantopoulos * Dustin Diamond * Phyllis Diller * Nina Dobrev * Snoop Dogg * Clark Duke * Ashley Eckstein * Zac Efron * Sam Elliott * Chris Evans * Luke Evans * Joey Fatone * David Faustino * Jon Favreau * Nat Faxon * Corey Feldman * Miguel Ferrer * Nathan Fillion * Reggie Fils-Aimé * Carrie Fisher * Calista Flockhart * Dan Fogler * Dave Foley * Ben Foster * Jermaine Fowler * Megan Fox * Alfonso Freeman * Martin Freeman * Soleil Moon Frye * Brittany Furlan * Peter Gallagher * Ralph Garman * Jennie Garth * Karen Gillan * Scott M. Gimple * Donald Glover * Whoopi Goldberg * Zachary Gordon * Mark-Paul Gosselaar * Lucas Grabeel * Topher Grace * Kat Graham * Spencer Grammer * Brian Austin Green * CeeLo Green * Max Greenfield * Judy Greer * Melanie Griffith * Josh Groban * Greg Grunberg * Carla Gugino * Anna Gunn * Danai Gurira * Kathryn Hahn * Corey Haim * Alison Haislip * Larry Hama * Mark Hamill * Jon Hamm * Colin Hanks * Jim Hanks * Alyson Hannigan * Chris Hardwick * Danielle Harris * Jared Harris * Neil Patrick Harris * Melissa Joan Hart * Dennis Haskins * David Hasselhoff * Ethan Hawke * Erinn Hayes * Emily Head * Jon Heder * Hugh Hefner * Tricia Helfer * Christina Hendricks * Tom Hiddleston * Megan Hilty * Hulk Hogan * Michael Hogan * Ashley Holliday * Nicholas Hoult * Kelly Hu * Vanessa Hudgens * Ernie Hudson * Sarah Hyland * The Iron Sheik * Gregory Itzin * Gillian Jacobs * Lennie James * Allison Janney * Famke Janssen * Sarah Jeffery * Shooter Jennings * Scarlett Johansson * Rashida Jones * Sung Kang * Robert Kazinsky * Arielle Kebbel * Monica Keena * Ellie Kemper * Page Kennedy * Ke$ha * Keegan-Michael Key * Val Kilmer * Jimmy Kimmel * Jaime King * Joey King * Dr. Will Kirby * Robert Kirkman * Don Knotts * Jane Krakowski * John Krasinski * Kristin Kreuk * Ashton Kutcher * T. J. Lavin * Mike Lazzo * Stan Lee * Thomas Lennon * Adrian Lester * Zachary Levi * Matthew Lillard * Andrew Lincoln * Delroy Lindo * Christopher Lloyd * Joe Lo Truglio * Mario Lopez * Caity Lotz * George Lucas * Ludacris * Ralph Macchio * Holly Madison * Lee Majors * Jena Malone * Howie Mandel * William Mapother * Kate Mara * Ross Marquand * Bridget Marquardt * James Marsden * George R. R. Martin * Tatiana Maslany * Master P * Danny Masterson * Melissa McBride * Eric McCormack * Jennette McCurdy * Josh McDermitt * Malcolm McDowell * John C. McGinley * Joel McHale * Julian McMahon * Rove McManus * Shane McRae * Stephen Merchant * Kel Mitchell * RJ Mitte * Katy Mixon * Alfred Molina * Maribeth Monroe * Phil Moore * Ronald D. Moore * Toby Leonard Moore * Jeffrey Dean Morgan * Pat Morita * David Morse * John Moschitta, Jr. * Olivia Munn * Conan O'Brien * Pat O'Brien * Chris O'Donnell * Raymond Ochoa * Sandra Oh * Masi Oka * Britne Oldford * Larisa Oleynik * John Oliver * Eric Christian Olsen * Timothy Omundson * Patton Oswalt * David Oyelowo * Lee Pace * Adrianne Palicki * Hayden Panettiere * Jessica Paré * Randall Park * Chris Parnell * Shawn Patterson * Aaron Paul * Jordan Peele * Simon Pegg * Tahmoh Penikett * Rhea Perlman * Ron Perlman * Katelin Peterson * Ryan Phillippe * Chris Pine * Dr. Drew Pinsky * Roddy Piper * Scott Porter * Freddie Prinze, Jr. * Danny Pudi * Lucy Punch * Zachary Quinto * Daniel Radcliffe * Efren Ramirez * Sarah Ramos * Marion Ramsey * Norman Reedus * Jeremy Renner * Paul Reubens * Burt Reynolds * Alfonso Ribeiro * Giovanni Ribisi * Sarah Rice * Andy Richter * Ashley Rickards * Chandler Riggs * Jason Ritter * Krysten Ritter * AnnaSophia Robb * Michael Rooker * Saoirse Ronan * Tim Roth * Paul Rudd * Debra Jo Rupp * Amy Ryan * Jeri Ryan * RZA * Bob Saget * Meredith Salenger * Susan Sarandon * Will Sasso * Fred Savage * Paul Scheer * Liev Schreiber * Ricky Schroder * Nev Schulman * Ben Schwartz * Adam Scott * Ryan Seacrest * David Shaughnessy * Alia Shawkat * Dax Shepard * Tiffany Shepis * Eden Sher * Dave Sheridan * Sarah Silverman * Gene Simmons * J. K. Simmons * Nick Simmons * Sir Mix-a-Lot * Christian Slater * Jean Smart * Robert Smigel * Kurtwood Smith * J. B. Smoove * Brenda Song * Hal Sparks * Brent Spiner * Martin Starr * Mary Steenburgen * Mindy Sterling * Jon Stewart * Patrick Stewart * Emma Stone * Patrick Stump * Jason Sudeikis * Marc Summers * George Takei * Bex Taylor-Klaus * Tila Tequila * Charlize Theron * Josh Robert Thompson * Lea Thompson * Courtney Thorne-Smith * Billy Bob Thornton * Ashley Tisdale * Carrot Top * Stuart Townsend * T-Pain * Michelle Trachtenberg * Triple H * Stanley Tucci * Alan Tudyk * Robin Tunney * Skeet Ulrich * Wilmer Valderrama * Jean-Claude Van Damme * James Van Der Beek * Carice van Houten * Milana Vayntrub * Milo Ventimiglia * Lark Voorhies * Dreama Walker * Patrick Warburton * Burt Ward * Michaela Watkins * Ming-Na Wen * Pete Wentz * Adam West * Wil Wheaton * Joss Whedon * Mae Whitman * Olivia Wilde * Kendra Wilkinson * Billy Dee Williams * Harland Williams * Maisie Williams * Rumer Willis * Scott Wilson * Henry Winkler * Michael Winslow * Alex Winter * Ariel Winter * James Wolk * Elijah Wood * Evan Rachel Wood * "Weird Al" Yankovic * Steven Yeun * William Zabka * Billy Zane * Tay Zonday Other voice actors Besides the celebrities above, many famous voice actors work on this series including: * Dee Bradley Baker * Michael Benyaer * Bob Bergen * Julianne Buescher * Jodi Carlisle * Greg Cipes * Keith Crofford * Jim Cummings * Grey DeLisle * John DiMaggio * Benjamin Diskin * Jeannie Elias * Bill Farmer * Mike Fasolo * Keith Ferguson * Quinton Flynn * Danny Goldman * Mike Henry * Roger L. Jackson * Tom Kane * Neil Kaplan * David Kaye * Tom Kenny * Maurice LaMarche * Phil LaMarr * George Lowe * Rachael MacFarlane * Drew Massey * Christopher McCulloch * Jim Meskimen * Minae Noji * Rob Paulsen * Patrick Pinney * Bill Ratner * Adam Reed * Justin Roiland * Susan Silo * Danny Smith * Dana Snyder * Stephen Stanton * Tara Strong * Cree Summer * Catherine Taber * Jill Talley * Fred Tatasciore * Frank Welker * Billy West * Matthew Wood Episodes Home media Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all three Star Wars specials in the United Kingdom. A box set including the first 3 seasons and a box set including all three Star Wars specials have also been released. Madman Entertainment has released all Robot Chicken seasons and specials to date in Australia and New Zealand. International * Robot Chicken premiered in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Bravo as part of the Adult Swim programming block. The series, along with other Adult Swim shows, moved to FX and ran from 5 June 2010 to 27 November 2010. The block did not air in 2011, but returned in 2012 on TCM 2. The channel ceased broadcasting in 2013. Syfy currently airs the DC Comics and Star Wars specials. Adult Swim, along with Robot Chicken, returned to UK television starting with a new block on the FOX channel in the fall of 2015. In late 2016 TruTV UK began airing Robot Chicken episodes. * Robot Chicken premiered in Australia on The Comedy Channel on March 11, 2008, after the Group Programming Director Darren Chau secured The Comedy Channel as the Australian home of Adult Swim. The Comedy Channel brought both Seth Green and Matt Senreich to Australia to conduct a promotional tour to support the launch. * Robot Chicken premiered in Portugal on the channel MOV in February 2013. * Robot Chicken premiered in Brazil on Adult Swim * Robot Chicken premiered in Germany on the pay TV channel Sat.1 Comedy on December 5, 2007 and on the free TV channel VIVA Germany in January 2014. * Robot Chicken premiered in the Netherlands on the channel Comedy Central Netherlands in February 2014. * In Canada, the series aired on Teletoon at Night, the nighttime programming block on Teletoon and then moved to the now defunct Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network. It currently airs on the 24/7 Adult Swim TV Network. * Robot Chicken premiered in Italy on TIMvision in September 14, 2016. See also * * * References External links * * * * * [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933920.html?categoryid=32&cs=1 Robot Chicken – Star Wars Review] at Variety.com }} Category:Robot Chicken Category:2000s American adult animated television series Category:2000s American black comedy television series Category:2000s American satirical television series Category:2000s American sketch comedy television series Category:2000s American surreal comedy television series Category:2005 American television series debuts Category:2010s American adult animated television series Category:2010s American black comedy television series Category:2010s American satirical television series Category:2010s American sketch comedy television series Category:2010s American surreal comedy television series Category:Adult Swim original programs Category:American animated television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:American adult animation anthology series Category:American parody television series Category:American stop-motion adult animated television series Category:American television programs featuring puppetry Category:Crossover animated television series Category:English-language television programs Category:Murder–suicide in television Category:Television series about chickens Category:Animated television series about robots Category:Television series by ShadowMachine Category:Television series by Sony Pictures Television Category:Television series by Williams Street Category:Television series by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios Category:Television series created by Matthew Senreich Category:Works by Geoff Johns Category:Action figures Category:American television series with live action and animation